


Pearl training Pearls

by Chromite



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Sky Arena, Training, holopearls, weapon summoning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-08 22:57:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18904369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromite/pseuds/Chromite
Summary: Pearl agrees to train Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl on fighting and weapon summoning.





	Pearl training Pearls

>Pearl stood in the sky arena, facing Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl. Both Pearls had come to her with a desire to learn how to fight, a desire to protect themselves, other gems, and their newfound freedoms in case something went wrong during Era Three. Pearl agreed to teach them, with the hopes they'd never have to use what they learned on other gems.  
>"We'll start with both of you attempting to summon gem weapons." Pearl spoke firmly to the pair, her eyes burning bright with a fire of determination. "Your gem weapon is an extension of yourself, something nobody can take away from you. It is vital that you learn how to summon one." Pearls face softens a bit as she continues. "Don't worry if you can't get it on the first try, it took me a while to be able to summon my weapon. With hard work and dedication, you can master the magical properties of your gem and perform your own dance!"  
>"How do we begin?" Blue Pearl asked softly, her hands fidgeting nervously, grasping at her skirt.  
>"Excellent question Blue! To start, I want you both to think of what makes you happy, what you want to do with your lives. Focus those feelings towards your gem. If you wish, you can try your own methods as well, don't be afraid to experiment and see what works!" "Pearl cupped her hands around her gem as her spear materialized from it. She pulled the spear out and grasped it firmly in her right hand, setting the dull end on the ground with a forceful clack. "Now, begin!"  
>Both Pearls imitated Pearl's motion by cupping their hands around their gems. Yellow Pearl closes her eyes as she focuses, her face scrunching up a bit as she tries to recall her happiest moments of existence, her body shaking with tension. Her gem lights up for a brief moment before going dull again.  
>Next to her, Blue Pearl stood completely still, a dull glow emanating from her gem. Two tears rolled down her cheeks as her gem glow became brighter, a thin handle emerging from her gem.  
>Blue Pearl eagerly grabbed the handle and began pulling. Her arms dropped down immediately from the weight as the end of her weapon came out, two curved blades on opposite sides of the pole, tiny blue diamonds patterned along them in a checkerboard pattern. A clank resonated through the arena as the battleaxe head hit the ground.  
>Pearl smiles widely before rushing over to Blue Pearl, lifting the weapon off of the ground and out of her hands. "Wonderful work Blue! Your weapon has a good weight to it, it should serve you well with practice!"  
>Yellow Pearl glances over at her blue counterpart and sighs. "How did you do that? I can't manage more than a dull glow over here."  
>"I admit, I'm curious myself. Most gems don't get summoning on their first try.!" Pearl placed the axe head back on the ground and offered the end of the shaft to Blue Pearl.  
>"Oh, uh, I tried thinking of happy thoughts, but that didn't work. So I thought of my- of Blue Diamond, and how she was sad for thousands of years, and how her grief affected me. I used the memory of the anger and frustration I felt during those years."  
>Pearl and Yellow Pearl both flinched upon hearing this. Pearl placed her left hand on Blue Pearl's right shoulder. "I hope you can find another way to summon your weapon Blue, your current way sounds bad for your mind long term."  
>Blue Pearl slumped a bit. "Oh, you might be right.....I'll see if I can find another way."  
>"For now it's okay, the important part is getting used to using your weapon now that you've summoned it. Yellow, since you couldn't summon yours, I will provide you with a simple sword for now."  
>Pearl's gem lit up as she pulled a short sword out of her gem. She offered it hilt first to her yellow counterpart. Yellow Pearl took the sword out of Pearl's hand carefully, feeling the weight of the blade in her own hand. She smiled as she gave the blade a few practice swings.  
>Pearl turned her attention towards Blue Pearl. "Do you think you can lift your weapon, Blue?"  
>"I'll try." Blue Pearl whispers as she grabs the shaft of her battleaxe. Quiet groans give way to normal speaking volume grunts of frustration as she struggles to lift her own weapon. The head of the axe comes a few inches off the ground before she gives up. "It appears I need to build my strength before I can use it." Blue Pearl whispered, her head hanging low in shame.  
>"It's okay Blue, you'll get there. Since your weapon is an axe, let's have you practice with smaller versions to help with technique and strength building." Pearl's gem lights up as two small axes float out of her gem and into her hands. She hands both off to Blue Pearl, a smile on her face. "Here, try these."  
>Blue Pearl holds the axes in her hand and gives them a few swings. She smiles as she feels the weight moving through the air. "Thank you, I can use these.  
>Pearl claps her hands together. "Excellent! Now that we have that sorted, we can begin the combat training portion. The best way to learn is with actual fights. To start, I will summon a HoloPearl for each of you. Your goal will be to last as long as you can, or to destroy them. They will stop attacking when they knock the weapon or weapons out of your hands. Do you both understand?"  
>Both Pearls nodded their understanding, Yellow Pearl's voice drowning out Blue Pearl's as she spoke. "I understand perfectly."  
>Pearl nodded as her gem lit up. A HoloPearl stood in front of her, a single blade in her right hand. "This one is your opponent, Yellow." Yellow faced the HoloPearl, clutching her borrowed sword in her right hand.  
>Pearl's gem lit up a second time as she summoned another HoloPearl, this one holding two axes to mimic the ones Blue Pearl had borrowed. "This one will be your opponent Blue. Do your best with double wielding, I know it'll be hard starting out with it, but it's the best way to build your strength."  
>Blue Pearl nodded as she turned to face her opponent, gripping the handles of her hand axes tightly.  
>"HoloPearls, activate, let the matches begin!" Pearl's voice rang out as the pale blue holograms's eyes lit up a bright red. Both chimed out in unison. "Challenger detected, ready, begin!"  
>Yellow Pearl cried out as she made her first move, sword in hand angled at her side as she made a quick slash to the hologram's left side. The HoloPearl moved its sword quickly, stopping the strike inches away from its form. Yellow Pearl followed her strike with a quick leg sweep before she backed off, hoping to disrupt her opponent's balance. The hologram instead jumped up to avoid the strike, pointing the tip of its sword downward as it readied itself for an aerial strike.  
>Yellow Pearl leaps aside as the hologram drives its sword into the ground, then quickly steps towards where Yellow Pearl jumped, bringing her sword down into a strike towards her body. Yellow Pearl brings her sword up to block, using a bit of extra force to knock the hologram's sword away, creating an opening. Yellow Pearl drives her sword into the holograms sword. The HoloPearl speaks a single line before disappearing "Challenger wins."  
>Meanwhile, the HoloPearl opponent facing Blue Pearl had been the one to make the first move, driving its axehead down in an overhead strike and reserving the other to block.  
>Blue Pearl moved both of her axes up to block, sparks flying as the three blades met each other. The HoloPearl adjusted its tactic, bringing the free axe around in a strike towards Blue Pearl's left side. Her eyes widened under her bangs as she pushed the axe resting on both of hers away before trying to move one to block the new strike.  
>She barely moved an axe down in time, the blades clanking together, Blue Pearl sliding sideways an inch from the impact.  
>The HoloPearl continues its assault, bringing the axe that had been knocked away into a sideward strike towards Blue Pearl's right side. She moves her axe down to block the new blow, missing the HoloPearl bringing its other axe towards her left. The blow on the right is blocked, sending her skidding into the strike on her left, the axe sinking into her arm a bit, causing her to drop both of her weapons as she yelps in pain.  
>"Challenger defeated." The HoloPearl chimes before it vanishes, its purpose fulfilled.  
>Pearl walks up to Blue Pearl and pulls out some bandages to wrap the shallow wound on her blue counterpart's left arm.  
>Pearl speaks as she treats Blue Pearl's wound. "That was excellent technique Yellow! Was that instinct helping you fight?"  
>Yellow Pearl smiled widely before she answered. "Oh stars no! I watched my- watched Yellow Diamond's armies conquer hundreds of worlds over the millennia. Yellow Diamond loved standing on the battlefield and watching her armies fight up close, I saw dozens of soldier gem types fighting with tons of different weapons and techniques. It's only natural that I picked up on some things by watching."  
>"I see, then you'll need a more advanced combat program for the future." Pearl turns towards Blue Pearl. "Do you know where you went wrong, Blue?"  
>"I focused too much on one axe instead of both." she whispered meekly, rubbing her bandaged arm with her right hand.  
>"You also focused on blocking only. Don't hesitate to jump away if you think you can't block. Movement is just as important as strikes and blocks! Do you understand? You did good for a first time, but you'll need a lot of work."  
>Blue Pearl nodded her head. "I will try to do better in the future."  
>"That's enough for today. You may both take your training weapons with you to practice if you want, Yellow, practice your summoning. Blue, practice your footwork and the speed you move your weapons. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'll see you next week.  
>Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl stashed their weapons in their gems before thanking Pearl for the lesson. The three Pearls left the arena together, each looking forward to next week's training session. Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl vowed they would do better next week in the areas they failed.

**Author's Note:**

> I think it'd be cool if each Pearl had her own weapon and style of fighting, I hope we can see more Pearls in Season Six.


End file.
